Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6390259
-
Patent Number
6,390,259
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, May 2, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 21, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 190 103
- 190 104
- 190 105
- 190 107
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A wheeled luggage with expandable body has two support mechanisms each comprising a sliding board secured to the side of auxiliary body, a locking mechanism secured to the side of main body and comprising two opposite locking members each having a ratchet member, and a trigger mechanism comprising a plate member, a trigger member, and two sliding members. In an unused position, the width of a flexible section is reduced to a minimum by closing the zipper and the sliding member is engaged with the rear tooth of the ratchet member, thereby preventing the sliding board from forward moving. The width of the flexible section is increased to a maximum by opening the zipper in a use position. The plate member is pushed rearward for disengaging the sliding members from the ratchet members, thereby permitting a rearward sliding of the sliding board from the use position to the unused position.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to luggage and more particularly to a wheeled luggage having a flexible section in which the expansion or compression of the flexible section is made more reliable by a pair of improved support mechanisms.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional wheeled luggage
10
with expandable body is shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. The luggage
10
comprises a main body
11
supported by a main frame
14
, an auxiliary body
15
, a flexible section
13
sandwiched between main body
11
and auxiliary body
15
, and a cover
12
coupled to the auxiliary body
15
. In an unused position, the width of flexible section
13
is reduced to a minimum by closing zipper
131
. In contrast, in a use position the width of flexible section
13
is increased to a maximum by opening zipper
131
so as to store personal belongings in the luggage. However, the previous design suffered from a disadvantage. For example, the bottom
132
of flexible section
13
is bulged by the weight of personal belongings stored in the luggage
10
. Such bulged portion
132
may hinder the wheeling of luggage
10
due to the contact with the ground. Thus, improvement exists in order to overcome the above drawback of prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a wheeled luggage comprising a main body, an auxiliary body, a flexible section sandwiched between the main body and the auxiliary body and having a zipper, a pair of support mechanisms provided on the opposite sides of the luggage, and a cover coupled to the auxiliary body, each of the support mechanisms comprising a sliding board secured to the side of the auxiliary body and comprising a first groove rail on either the top or the bottom side, a flat recess, a lower vertical channel and an upper vertical channel on one side, a horizontal channel in the center having two opposite shoulders in one end joined with the facing ends of the vertical channels, an elongate horizontal slot in the other end, and an elongate trough coupled between the elongate horizontal slot and the shoulders; a locking mechanism secured to the side of the main body and comprising two opposite locking members each including a ratchet member, and a groove in one end for guiding the first groove rail to match therewith; and a trigger mechanism comprising a plate member including an elongate plate, an enlarged end member in one end, an aperture through the other end, a projection on the back slidably received in the trough, two spaced posts on one side of the end member with the plate located therebetween, two elastic members put on the posts and each having one end biased against the shoulder, and two spaced pins; a trigger member on the back of the sliding board and including a sleeve on one side inserted through the elongate horizontal slot of the sliding board and the aperture and a lock pin inserted into the sleeve for coupling the trigger member to the plate member; and a pair of sliding members received in the vertical channels respectively and each having an elongate slanted slot in one end facing the other sliding member with the pin defined therein and a slanted end in the other end engaged with one of the teeth of each ratchet member; wherein in an unused position, the width of the flexible section is reduced to a minimum by closing the zipper and each slanted end engaged with the rear tooth of the ratchet member, thereby preventing the sliding board from forward moving at the unused position; the sliding board is operative to slide forward to cause the auxiliary body to move away from the main body with each slanted end sliding on the teeth of each ratchet member until the width of the flexible section has reached a maximum in a use position and each slanted end is engaged with the front tooth of each ratchet member once the sliding of the slanted ends is stopped, thereby preventing the sliding board from backward moving at the use position; or the lock pin is continuously pushed rearward to cause the plate member to move rearward for compressing the elastic members, the sliding members are forced to move toward each other with the pins moved from lowest positions in the slanted slots to highest positions therein, each slanted end is disengaged from the ratchet member, and the sliding board is operative to slide rearward until the width of the flexible section has reached the minimum and once the lock pin is released each slanted end is again engaged with the rear tooth of each ratchet member, thereby preventing the sliding board from forward moving at the unused position.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded view of a conventional wheeled luggage with expandable body;
FIG. 2
is a side view of the assembled
FIG. 1
luggage;
FIG. 3
is an exploded view of a wheeled luggage with expandable body according to the invention;
FIG. 4
is an exploded view of support mechanism shown in
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a side view schematically showing the assembled support mechanism of
FIG. 4
where flexible section is compressed to a minimum;
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of the
FIG. 5
luggage;
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of the assembled
FIG. 3
luggage where zipper of flexible section has been opened in a use position;
FIG. 8
is a view similar to
FIG. 5
where flexible section is expanded to a maximum;
FIG. 9
is a view similar to
FIG. 5
where flexible section is being compressed; and
FIG. 10
is a sectional view taken along line A—A of FIG.
9
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to
FIGS. 3
to
6
, there is shown a wheeled luggage constructed in accordance with the invention comprising a main body
20
having a main frame
23
and a fabric
25
covered on the main frame
23
, an auxiliary body
24
, a flexible section
22
sandwiched between the main body
20
and the auxiliary body
24
and having a zipper
221
, a pair of support mechanisms
30
provided on the opposite sides of the luggage, and a cover
21
coupled to the auxiliary body
24
. The characteristics of the invention is the improved support mechanisms
30
as detailed below.
Each support mechanism
30
comprises a rectangular sliding board
40
comprising a first groove rail
41
on either top or bottom side, a flat recess
42
, a lower vertical channel
44
on inner side, an upper vertical channel
45
on the inner side, a horizontal channel
43
in the center having two opposite shoulders
433
in one end joined with the facing ends of the vertical channels
44
and
45
, an elongate horizontal slot
431
in the other end, and an elongate trough
432
coupled between the elongate horizontal slot
431
and the shoulders
433
, a plurality of risers
46
projected from either side of vertical channels
44
and
45
, a second groove rail
47
adjacent each of the first groove rails
41
, a pair of spaced first holes
48
, and a pair of fasteners
49
(e.g., screws) driven through first holes
48
to secure support mechanism
30
to the sides of the auxiliary body
24
; a locking mechanism
50
comprising two opposite locking members
51
and
52
each including a ratchet member
511
(or
521
) facing the other, a groove
512
(or
522
) in one end for guiding the first groove rail
41
to match therewith, an elongate flange
513
(or
523
) on the same side as the groove
512
(or
522
) for matingly engaging with the second groove rail
47
, a plurality of second holes (two are shown)
514
(or
524
), and a plurality of fasteners (e.g., screws)
515
(or
525
) driven through second holes
514
(or
524
) to secure support mechanism
30
to the sides of the main frame
23
; and a trigger mechanism
6
comprising a plate member
61
including an elongate plate
611
, an enlarged end member
615
in one end, an aperture
612
through the other end, a projection
613
on the back slidably received in the trough
432
, two spaced posts
614
on one side of the end member
615
with the plate
611
located therebetween, two coil springs
63
each put on the post
614
and having one end biased against the shoulder
433
, and two spaced pins
616
; a trigger member
62
on the back of the sliding board
40
and including a sleeve
621
on one side inserted through the elongate horizontal slot
431
of the sliding board
40
and the aperture
612
and a lock pin
622
inserted into the sleeve
621
for coupling the trigger member
62
to the plate member
61
; and a pair of sliding members
64
and
65
slidably received in the vertical channels
44
and
45
respectively with the guiding of the risers
46
and each having an elongate slanted slot
641
(or
651
) in one end facing the other sliding member
65
(or
64
) with the pin
616
defined therein and a slanted end
642
(or
652
) in the other end engaged with one of the teeth of the ratchet member
511
(or
521
). In an unused position, the width of flexible section
22
is reduced to a minimum by closing zipper
221
in which the sliding board
40
has been slid inward to cause the auxiliary body
24
to move toward the main body
20
with the slanted ends
642
and
652
engaged with the rear teeth of the ratchet members
511
and
521
respectively, thus preventing the sliding board
40
from forward moving at this position, i.e., locking the support mechanisms
30
for preventing the flexible section
22
and the luggage from expanding (FIGS.
5
and
6
).
Referring to
FIGS. 7
to
10
, the operation of the support mechanisms
30
will now be described in detail in the case that a user wants to pack personal belongings into the luggage. The user may slide the sliding board
40
forward to cause the auxiliary body
24
to move away from the main body
20
with the slanted ends
642
and
652
sliding on the teeth of the ratchet members
511
and
521
respectively until the width of the flexible section
22
has reached its maximum (FIGS.
7
and
8
). Once the sliding of the slanted ends
642
and
652
is stopped, they are engaged with the front teeth of the ratchet members
511
and
521
respectively, thus preventing the sliding board
40
from backward moving at this position, i.e., locking the support mechanisms
30
for preventing the flexible section
22
and the luggage from compressing. In contrast, if users wants to compress the flexible section
22
to its minimum width in an unused position of the luggage a number of operations must be performed as detailed below. First, continuously push the lock pin
622
rearward to cause the plate member
61
to move rearward, thus compressing the coil springs
63
. Then the sliding members
64
and
65
are forced to move toward each other with the pins
616
moved from the lowest positions in the slanted slots
641
and
651
(
FIG. 8
) to the highest positions therein (FIG.
9
). At this position, the slanted ends
642
and
652
are disengaged from the ratchet members
511
and
521
respectively. Hence, it is possible to slide the sliding board
40
rearward until the width of the flexible section
22
has reached its minimum. The slanted ends
642
and
652
are again engaged with the rear teeth of the ratchet members
511
and
521
respectively when the pushing force on the lock pin
622
is released. At the same time, the coil springs
63
are expanded to return to normal positions. As an end, the sliding board
40
is again prevented from forward moving at this position, i.e., locking the support mechanisms
30
for preventing the flexible section
22
and the luggage from expanding (FIGS.
5
and
6
).
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
Claims
- 1. A wheeled luggage comprising a main body, an auxiliary body, a flexible section sandwiched between said main body and said auxiliary body and having a zipper, a pair of support mechanisms provided on said opposite sides of said luggage, and a cover coupled to said auxiliary body, each of said support mechanisms comprising:a sliding board secured to said side of said auxiliary body and comprising a first groove rail on either said top or said bottom side a flat recess, a lower vertical channel and an upper vertical channel on one side, a horizontal channel in said center having two opposite shoulders in one end joined with said facing ends of said vertical channels, an elongate horizontal slot in said other end, and an elongate trough coupled between said elongate horizontal slot and said shoulders; a locking mechanism secured to said side of said main body and comprising two opposite locking members each including a ratchet member, and a groove in one end for guiding said first groove rail to match therewith; and a trigger mechanism comprising a plate member including an elongate plate, an enlarged end member in one end, an aperture through said other end, a projection on said back slidably received in said trough, two spaced posts on one side of said end member with said plate located therebetween, two elastic members put on said posts and each having one end biased against said shoulder, and two spaced pins; a trigger member on said back of said sliding board and including a sleeve on one side inserted through said elongate horizontal slot of said sliding board and said aperture and a lock pin inserted into said sleeve for coupling said trigger member to said plate member; and a pair of sliding members received in said vertical channels respectively and each having an elongate slanted slot in one end facing said other sliding member with said pin defined therein and a slanted end in said other end engaged with one of said teeth of each ratchet member; wherein in an unused position, said width of said flexible section is reduced to a minimum by closing said zipper and each slanted end engaged with said rear tooth of said ratchet member, thereby preventing said sliding board from forward moving at said unused position; said sliding board is operative to slide forward to cause said auxiliary body to move away from said main body with each slanted end sliding on said teeth of each ratchet member until said width of said flexible section has reached a maximum in a use position and each slanted end is engaged with said front tooth of each ratchet member once said sliding of said slanted ends is stopped, thereby preventing said sliding board from backward moving at said use position; or said lock pin is continuously pushed rearward to cause said plate member to move rearward for compressing said elastic members, said sliding members are forced to move toward each other with said pins moved from lowest positions in said slanted slots to highest positions therein, each slanted end is disengaged from said ratchet member, and said sliding board is operative to slide rearward until said width of said flexible section has reached said minimum and once said lock pin is released each slanted end is again engaged with said rear tooth of each ratchet member, thereby preventing said sliding board from forward moving at said unused position.
- 2. The wheeled luggage of claim 1, wherein said locking member further comprises an elongate flange on said same side as said groove and said sliding board further comprises a second groove rail adjacent said first groove rail for engaging with said elongate flange.
- 3. The wheeled luggage of claim 1, wherein said sliding board further comprises a plurality of risers projected from either side of each vertical channel for guiding said sliding members to receive in said vertical channels.
- 4. The wheeled luggage of claim 1, wherein said elastic member is a coil spring.
US Referenced Citations (4)